Blues braved the elements to win Winter Classic, have makings of solid team

Berube wants to keep attitude of group curbed, wants them peaking in 

spring; Kyrou steals show in 6-4 win over Wild in sub-zero temperatures

By LOU KORAC
MINNEAPOLIS -- The one guy that needed to get used to the elements more than anyone for the Blues was the guy standing guard of their cage.

For the majority of the first two periods, Jordan Binnington probably moved around the least in the Blues' 6-4 win over the Minnesota Wild in the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, on Saturday night.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Robert Thomas (left) and Ivan Barhashev celebrate Barbashev's power

play goal in the Winter Classic in Minnesota on Saturday.

It was downright frigid, for Binnington, for the Blues, for the Wild, for the 38,619 spectators that braves what was announced as a minus-5.7 puck drop temperature, an NHL record for an outdoor game, that continued to fall, and reached minus-10 by game's end.

The Blues, who improved to 19-9-5 on the season behind Jordan Kyrou's outdoor record four points (for a game and period, the second) with two goals and two assists, did everything they could to make it as comfortable, if possible, as they could. From showing up looking like a modern version of the Beach Boys (that wasn't normal but it was bold), to using chicken broth instead of water in their bottles, to utilizing heat on the benches and being as layered up as much as possible.

It all amounted to quite the successful night by game's end.

"It was an interesting experience," Binnington said after making 29 saves, including 16 in the third period with the game well in hand. "Going into it, people are saying it's going to be cold, you're going to be freezing, how many layers are you going to wear. It's kind of like I'm feeling it out at practice and go from there. It was interesting for sure. 

"I've got to give a big shout out to the training staff in getting all of us bundled up. Every TV timeout, I'd want to go to the bench and get warmers, Drew (assistant equipment manager Andrew Dvorak) would put warmers in my blocker. It was kind of just hands and feet for the most part, but other than that, it was alright. They really helped us out a lot with broth and the heat warmers going out. The whole setup. I watched a couple of these games and a couple interviews afterwards and everyone says how much goes into it. Being a part of it, I can really say it's incredible from the ice crew to making this all possible. I think we all really appreciate the work that went into it and it was a really fun experience for me. Just seeing that many people in the stadium cheering and some fireworks, it was a crazy show and I think it's something we'll always remember."

As far as the swag rags, well, the Blues were asking for instant pneumonia. But they figured why not? Do something nobody else would think if doing, on the grandest outdoor stage the NHL puts on once a year.

"The adrenaline and just the excitement of walking in felt pretty good, but yeah, it was cold," Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly said. "Getting out there and the anthem, sitting around waiting, that was much colder."

The game in itself was a spectacle, something the players want to treasure and remember being a part of, but as Blues coach Craig Berube said beforehand, enjoy the event but two points are what this was all about.

"I agree. It is a big event," Berube said. "I’ve been involved in a couple of them. I think they’re great, first of all. ... Like, you've got to enjoy your family. It’s important. They’re here. It’s important to enjoy the family, enjoy the whole thing. It’s a big deal. Again, when the puck drops, it’s business. We’re fighting with the Wild for first place. They’re a very good hockey team. So we’re going to have to play really well."

They did, at least for 40 minutes, when the Blues jumped to a 6-2 lead highlighted by a five-goal outburst in the second period. 

David Perron set the tone for a solid first period when he gave the Blues a 1-0 lead, then the onslaught commenced in the second, with Kyrou, Tarasenko, Ivan Barbashev (power-play goal), Kyrou again and Torey Krug all scoring and giving the Blues a commanding 6-2 lead.

"I think we started to realize they're a team that likes to make plays and obviously the ice is not the best," Kyrou said. "We kind of just tried to capitalize on their mistakes and that's how we got our chances. We capitalized on our chances."

Kyrou's second four-point game this season (he also had one Oct. 18, also two goals and two assists at Arizona) have him seven points (three goals, four assists) the past two games since he returned from an upper-body injury and 32 points in 29 games this season.

"His energy, the way he came out with confidence, he was making plays," O'Reilly said of Kyrou. "It's not easy out there on that ice, pucks were bouncing a lot and for him to have the confidence to handle the puck the way he did, some of the plays he made, it didn't bother him at all. It was impressive to see. He made some great plays tonight. I think 'Chief' mentioned in there that it's a Winter Classic record, which is fantastic. He earned it. He worked hard and it was impressive how well he handled the puck tonight and the plays he made."

Berube stuck with the Kyrou line with Robert Thomas and Vladimir Tarasenko, which was effective in a 4-2 win over Edmonton last Wednesday.

"They played together before the Edmonton game a ways back," Berube said. "Going back and thinking about them, they had a ton of opportunities to score but they didn’t score. So you change things as a coach. You want production more than anything. But in the back of my mind, I knew that they played well and they had opportunities. And with 'Buchy' and 'Barby' out (against Edmonton), I just needed to put some combinations back together that I knew could have the possibility of doing well. They did well in Edmonton, and they did well again tonight. That’s really what it boils down to."

A Blues lineup that's beginning to fill out showed more signs of just how well-rounded they are and can be. The return of Oskar Sundqvist, Barbashev and Pavel Buchnevich on Saturday, after Perron, Kyrou and Thomas returned last Wednesday offered a glimpse of what may be a sign of things to come.

"I said it after last game, it's nice to have guys back," Tarasenko said. "We don't play with a full roster this year, there's always somebody sick or injured or something. We don't mention those guys that are not playing, they give a lot of positive vibes, they work hard to come back. It doesn't matter win or lose, those guys (that) didn't skate support us and help us through recoveries or time to get back on the ice. Honestly this team can be pretty good, but it's nice to have the guys back, especially in this game. Everyone want to play in games like this. Nice to be almost full roster."

And the Blues didn't even have Brayden Schenn, who has been out since Dec. 7 with an upper-body injury but pushed to play Saturday.

"He did. We talked a lot," Berube said. "It was a tough decision. I think I probably pushed him out of playing more than he did. I didn’t want to take a chance. In the elements here, with the cold and everything, I thought it was taking a chance."

The Blues are 9-2-3 in their past 14 games and have crept within one point for the top spot in the Western Conference and in first in the Central entering Sunday.

Berube wants to curb the talk of how good the Blues can be. He's never been one to look too far ahead.

"We've got to keep just working on things and getting better," he said. "There’s a lot of hockey to be played. Like I said before, going into the spring time, you want to be playing your best hockey, which I think that’s still ahead of us.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues coach Craig Berube (top middle) likes the way the team is playing

but wants them to stay in the moment and be peaking in the spring.

"We have a lot of good players. We have real good camaraderie on our team. The team’s really doing a good job of putting the team first; that’s a big thing for us, putting the team first. I really like the chemistry of this team. But again, there’s a lot of hockey to be played. So we've got to keep getting better, keep pushing. And like I said, going into the spring time, you want to be really firing on all cylinders."

In the meantime, before the schedule commences Wednesday in Pittsburgh, the Blues should be afforded the time to enjoy winning an outdoor event and braving those elements.

"We kind of pulled back in the third a little bit, but those first two periods was very good and end of the third was very good," Tarasenko said. "A lot of guys blocked shots. I think you know in these games, it's a big game, very emotional games, sometimes you go off of emotionally, sometimes you just go down a little bit, especially when they score but I think we handled it pretty well. 'Binner' made some great saves in the end. It's a big game, it's nice to win. It's nice to win at home five years ago, but now we play on the road and we still get a win. It's a Winter Classic and it's not happening very often. I'm really happy with our performance tonight and enjoy the time with the families now."

* NOTES -- With players returning to the lineup, the Blues made a host of moves on Sunday, including sending goalie Charlie Lindgren, forward Alexei Toropchenko and defenseman Calle Rosen to Springfield of the American Hockey League. Each player was assigned to the taxi squad the past few days.

Lindgren was the story of the three assigned back to the AHL. He was 5-0-0 with an incredible 1.22 goals-against average and .958 save percentage filling in for Binnington and Ville Husso while each was out on COVID-19 protocol and while Husso was injured with a lower-body injury.

The Blues also placed veteran forward James Neal on waivers. The veteran forward, who has been on long-term injured reserve this season with an upper-body injury, has two goals and two assists in 17 games with the Blues this season.

Neal, 34, made the team out of training camp on a professional tryout and earned himself a one-year, $750,000 contract. If he goes unclaimed, the Blues will likely assign him to Springfield so he can get some games in.